orsib78's Posts

@AvinashKiran: Hello. Unfortunately my problem did not resolved yet. I ziptied the SSD to the chassis. Insulated the bottom of the SSD with foam tape to ensure that there won't be any short circuit w...
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@AvinashKiran: Hello. Unfortunately my problem did not resolved yet. I ziptied the SSD to the chassis. Insulated the bottom of the SSD with foam tape to ensure that there won't be any short circuit when it touches the metal parts beneath. That's what I did (yeah, so professional for a 1000 USD notebook). It is not a rock solid solution as the SSD can still slide out from the M.2 socket so I need to open the laptop and check its position from time to time. Until you came with the same problem I thought my problem is a unique manufacturing issue, slipped through quality check, because it is hard to believe that Dell is trying to spare some money on a 0.0001 USD standoff while everything else is still included on the motherboard (controller, M.2 socket, etc) which I assume more expensive than a standoff. But I think it is rather an intentional and stupid thing from Dell that they punish the HDD only version buyers (who thinks that they will be able to install the M.2 SSD by themselves). The problem is that we are quite misguided as the service manual which can be downloaded from the Dell website for my notebook, suggests that I will be able to install an M.2 SSD, moreover there are pictures how I can do it. This is a shame.

Hi there! So my relationship with this new laptop didn't start well. Here is another problem I experienced. First I have got the latest BIOS on my Vostro which is 1.3.0 and the latest firmware on W...
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Hi there! So my relationship with this new laptop didn't start well. Here is another problem I experienced. First I have got the latest BIOS on my Vostro which is 1.3.0 and the latest firmware on WD15 which is the following but it seems also the latest one: The problem is at a glance that when my laptop is turned off and I connect the WD15 using its USB-C cable the connection is not perfectly established for the first time. It seems that the laptop start to draw some power but I can't turn it on using the external power button on the dock. In this state, if I turn on the laptop using its power button, I receive the following error message: Yeah... A dock with 180W adapter can only provide 60W... LOL But If I am not turning on the laptop using its power button, but instead pull the USB-C connector of the dock and push back in for the second time, the LED inidactor on the USB-C connector is indicating that now the connection is perfectly established and I can turn on the laptop using the external power button on the dock. No error message during boot OFC. I assume it should not work like this. I created a short proof of concept video for this (sorry for my terrible English): Proof of Concept video on youtube

Hello. OFFTOPIC ON First, sorry for the click-bait subject but I really have bad experience regarding the support I received regarding my brand new Dell Vostro 5481 laptop. The price of my laptop i...
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Hello. OFFTOPIC ON First, sorry for the click-bait subject but I really have bad experience regarding the support I received regarding my brand new Dell Vostro 5481 laptop. The price of my laptop in Hungary is almost 1000 USD which is the monthly average salary in the country so I am a bit sensitive if my problem remains unresolved after a tons of emails and calls with the product support. OFFTOPIC OFF My laptop is a Vostro 5481. Core i5, 4Gbyte RAM + 1Gbyte HDD, No SSD. As you can see this is the cheapest version. The reason I bought this version is that I wanted to expand the memory and install the SSD myself. This is cheaper than buy it pre-installed from Dell and I already got a 256Gbyte M.2 Samsung 950Pro NVME SSD which is far better than anything Dell can offer for this laptop, and again it was already in my possession so why would I buy a laptop with an SSD right? So I bought the Vostro two weeks ago, and 16Gbyte RAM separately (which has the right parameters to be 100% compatible). So I opened the bottom of my laptop and installed the RAM and well... tried to install the M.2 SSD. The fact is that the M.2 slot is there, I can put my m.2 SSD in it, it is working perfectly, but the standoff which could be used to secure the SSD to the chassis is completely missing. So I can't screw the standard M2x3 screw - which is also mentioned by the service manual for this laptop - anywhere to secure the M.2 SSD (and lock in place). The following picture (captured from the service manual) showing the part my laptop is missing. It is marked as red: The same area of my laptop is looks like this: As you can see there is only a bridge with a hole pressed into the chassis, but the standoff is completely missing. The same thing for 2230 M.2 SSD. Only a bridge with a hole (it is covered by my SSD on the picture since it is a 2280). The support told me that the hole on the bridge is the standoff itself and I should be able to use a screw which is under Dell Part number H1M5R, which is guess what, is a standard M2x3 screw (also mentioned in the Service Manual). If somebody ever seen a standard M2x3 screw and a standard M.2 SSD, based on my pictures it is a clear thing that the hole on the bridge is simply too big for this screw and that is a piece of metal with a hole, and it has no comb where you can screw the M2x3. The second thing is that since my M.2 SSD is already laying on the 2230 bridge, tightly securing it to the 2280 whole in it is current form would generate tension in the M.2 SSD. So it is a clear thing that you need a standoff (as you normally do) to ensure that after you secured the SSD it will remain level and will not touch anything beneath especially the standoff/bridge/whatever for 2230. The support is claiming the only thing I need is the H1M5R screw despite I already told them that an M2x3 screw (which I already have) is too small for that hole and the standoff is clearly missing. There is no indication in the service manual that for the HDD only models the standoffs are missing and to be honest it would be insane if Dell would like to spare some money by intentionally leaving the standoffs out while the M.2 socket and the required electronics is still there (which I guess a more expensive part than a 0,0003 USD metal bit). Can someone help me what to do because my laptop is either a faulty one (the standoffs were not pressed to the chassis during manufacturing), or there should be another part which I can use to fix my SSD professionally and securely to the chassis. The current solution on the pictures I think is not worthy for a 1000 USD laptop and it is not secure as the SSD eventually can slide out from the socket.

I am back and I have some good news. Finally I bought WD15 with the 180W adapter. There was no big difference between them considering the price so I went for the bigger one as it might be more futur...
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I am back and I have some good news. Finally I bought WD15 with the 180W adapter. There was no big difference between them considering the price so I went for the bigger one as it might be more futureproof. The good news is that WD15 (at least the 180W version) is charging Vostro 5481 through USB-C. I really like that when you plug it in, it remembers to the previous monitor configuration. For eg. when my laptop is on dock I'd like to use my two P2217 and I'd like to disable the screen of the laptop (the lid is cloded anyway). So it is working, even the lid is open, it disables the laptop display and enables the two P2217 as I left the last time (extended display, which one is the primary). There were two problems although. I can't make the NIC MAC passtrhough work. So I end up cloning the onboard NIC Mac address to the dock USB NIC using windows Device Properties. Not so elegant but it is working. Maybe I missed something in the BIOS this is why it isn't working. But this is a small problem which can be easily fixed. The bigger problem is that when the Vostro's power is off, sometimes it does not recognise that the dock itself properly. The USB-C connector has a white led which indicates that the connection is perfectly made with the laptop. So if you plug the dock to the Vostro in and the led on the dock USB-C connector is off, then you can be sure it is not charging properly and you can't turn on the laptop with the closed lid using the power button on the dock. So you need to disconnect and reconnect again (sometimes three times) until the LED on the USB-C connector of the dock is indicating that the connection is perfectly made. I don't know if it is a hardware issue or can be resolved with a BIOS/Firmware update later, but it is not working as seamlessly as it is expected. BTW. both my Vostro and the dock has the latest available BIOS/Firmware.

Hello. Thank you for the quick reply. Can I reach someone at Dell to clarify the PD capability before I will spend my money? Since I am not yet a customer I could not find the way to reach technical s...
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Hello. Thank you for the quick reply. Can I reach someone at Dell to clarify the PD capability before I will spend my money? Since I am not yet a customer I could not find the way to reach technical support yet. Maybe I am dumb, but I tried in many ways already...

Hello, I am planning to buy a Dell Vostro 5481 laptop along with the 130W version of WD15 dock. I already have two P2217 monitors. My question is whether this setup will work perfectly (so the WD15 ...
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Hello, I am planning to buy a Dell Vostro 5481 laptop along with the 130W version of WD15 dock. I already have two P2217 monitors. My question is whether this setup will work perfectly (so the WD15 can drive these monitors properly) or not and whether the WD15 can charge the Vostro 5481 via the USB-C connection (power delivery) so I won't need to use a separate power adapter for the laptop while it is connected to the dock? Thank you in advance, Blake

Hello.
I have recently bought this laptop with Intel HD 4400 + nvidia graphics. I have installed Windows 8.1 64bit instead of the Pre-installed Ubuntu. Everything is working properly except if I in...
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Hello.
I have recently bought this laptop with Intel HD 4400 + nvidia graphics. I have installed Windows 8.1 64bit instead of the Pre-installed Ubuntu. Everything is working properly except if I install the Intel HD graphics driver from Dell.com or let Windows Update to install the same which result in blank screen. If I remove the driver or I connect to the laptop via RDP and disable the driver in windows device manager then enable it then the screen is back.
It appears me a driver issue. Under Ubuntu it was worked perfectly. Please advise.
Thanks,
Balazs

Hello.
I have similar problems. I've recently bought a DELL Inspiron 15-3000 (EARLY 2014) 3542 with Intel HD4400 + Nvidia graphics. The original OS was Ubuntu Linux. I have installed Windows 8.1 64...
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Hello.
I have similar problems. I've recently bought a DELL Inspiron 15-3000 (EARLY 2014) 3542 with Intel HD4400 + Nvidia graphics. The original OS was Ubuntu Linux. I have installed Windows 8.1 64bit, but when I have installed the INTEL HD Graphics driver from DELL website (latest) or let Windows Update to do the same the screen is going to blank and it remains until I've removed the Intel HD Graphics driver. Another solution If I simply disable the intel graphics driver in Device Manager and then re-enable it (connecting to the laptop through microsoft remote desktop) then the screen is back until the next reboot. I have also a question: Will Dell release drivers for this laptop for Windows 10?
Please advise,
Thanks,
Balazs